1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to trailers, and more particularly to apparatus that enables a trailer to accommodate different size boats.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of trailers have been developed to haul different kinds of cargo. For example, trailers for hauling boats, snowmobiles, personal watercrafts, and all-terrain vehicles are well known and in widespread use.
A rather specialized trailer is required to haul a pontoon boat. Pontoon boats are commercially available in a variety of deck widths and pontoon diameters. A pontoon boat trailer typically has a narrow width so as to fit between the boat pontoons. The pontoon boat trailer normally has a carriage that is raiseable and lowerable relative to the trailer frame. The trailer is used by lowering the carriage and rolling the trailer under the pontoon boat deck. The carriage is then raised to contact the deck and lift the boat off the ground or out of the water. Normally, the boat is tied to the carriage at the trailer front end.
Although pontoon boat trailers have been used successfully for many years, they nevertheless possess an undesirable characteristic. For practical considerations, pontoon boat trailers are usually made with a width that is slightly less than the expected narrowest distance between the pontoons of the boats to be hauled. When hauling such boats, any transverse spaces between the trailer and the pontoons are small, which makes the trailer satisfactory for holding the boats laterally on the trailer during hauling.
However, when the pontoon boat trailer is used with a pontoon boat that has a wider deck or smaller pontoons, there can be considerable transverse spaces between the trailer and the pontoons. In FIG. 1, for example, a pontoon boat trailer 1 is shown supporting a typical pontoon boat 3. There is a transverse distance D between the trailer carriage lift arms 21 and the boat pontoons 7. It is conceivable that the boat 3 could slide laterally on the carriage 19 through the distances D while the boat is being hauled. Such sliding would affect the location of the boat center of gravity relative to the trailer 1 and could tend to make the boat and trailer combination unstable.
Thus, a need exists for improvements in pontoon boat trailers.
In accordance with the present invention, an economical and versatile pontoon trailer travel kit is provided that substantially prevents a pontoon boat from sliding laterally on a pontoon boat trailer. This is accomplished by apparatus that includes a bunk adjustably mounted to a pontoon boat trailer lift arm.
According to one aspect of the invention, the pontoon trailer travel kit is comprised of a bunk bracket that is mounted to the trailer lift arm. The bunk bracket mounting is achieved in a way that enables the bunk bracket to be adjustable along the lift arm. In a preferred embodiment, the bunk bracket has a base plate that contacts the trailer lift arm and is held in place by fasteners. A pair of side plates extend perpendicularly from the base plate opposite the trailer lift arm.
The pontoon trailer travel kit further includes a bunk assembly that is fastened to the bunk bracket. The bunk assembly is composed of the bunk and two side walls that are slidable on the bunk bracket side plates in directions perpendicular to the directions of the adjustment of the bunk bracket on the trailer lift arm. The bunk assembly side walls are fastened to the bunk bracket side plates.
In use, a pontoon trailer travel kit is pre-set on each of two lift arms on opposite sides of the pontoon boat trailer. To do so, the distance between the pontoons of the boat to be hauled is measured. The bunk bracket fasteners are tightened to the lift arm so as to be approximately horizontal aligned with the boat pontoons. The bunk assemblies are slid relative to the bunk brackets until the bunks are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the distance between the boat pontoons. The bunk assembly side walls are then tightly fastened to the bunk bracket side plates. After the pontoon trailer travel kits have been pre-set, the boat can be lifted and hauled in the usual manner. The kits assure that there is only minimal transverse spaces between the trailer and the pontoons through which the boat could slide while being hauled. The kits can be easily removed, if desired, when the boat is lowered again onto the ground or water.
Further in accordance with the present invention, the pontoon trailer travel kit can accommodate distances between boat pontoons that are too small for the kit described above. With closely spaced pontoons, the bunk bracket can be left unused. Instead, the bunk assembly is clamped directly to the lift arm. To do so, the bunk assembly side walls straddle the lift arm. The bunk assembly is positioned on the lift arm such that it is approximately aligned with the pontoon. Then the side walls are clamped by fasteners to the lift arm.
The method and apparatus of the invention, using mutually perpendicularly adjustable bunk brackets and bunk assemblies, thus removes substantially all transverse spaces between a pontoon boat trailer and the pontoons of a pontoon boat. The probability that the boat might slide laterally on the trailer is minimal, even though different size boats are haulable by a single trailer.
Other advantages, benefits, and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description of the invention.